The air in the backstage of the Concert Hall seemed to solidify, every second flowing with a heavy sense of oppression.
Su Yuqing and Liuli had just finished their conversation about childhood and cats—a memory mixed with sadness and warmth—when the sharp, urgent ringing of a phone pierced the brief silence like an ice pick.
“Huh?”
Minazuki Ruri, sitting across from Su Yuqing, was the first to look up.
A flash of surprise crossed her deep blue eyes.
She tilted her head, her gaze landing precisely on the phone Su Yuqing had placed on the corner of the vanity.
“Um… Is that your phone ringing, Yuqing?”
Su Yuqing felt as if she were being forcibly dragged out of a deep dream.
Her eyes were vacant for a moment before she realized the persistent buzzing came from her own device.
“Oh…” she murmured subconsciously, a trace of confusion crossing her face.
“At this hour… why would someone be calling me?”
An ominous feeling, like a cold snake, quietly coiled around her spine.
She reached for the phone mechanically.
A familiar number from the Backstage Coordination Group was dancing on the screen.
The moment her fingertip swiped the answer key, she could feel her heart skip an irregular beat.
“Hello? This is Su Yuqing.”
Her voice held a tension she hadn’t even noticed.
The news from the other end was short and hurried, but it hit her like a massive boulder thrown into a still lake, sending ripples of shock through her heart.
“What? Chiai… Chiai fell in the Rehearsal Piano Room just now!?”
Su Yuqing’s voice rose uncontrollably, her voice cracking on the last word.
She lunged up from her chair, her sudden movement nearly knocking over the tall stool behind her.
Liuli immediately turned serious, looking over with concern.
“How is she?! Is it… is it serious?!”
Yuqing asked urgently, her fingers gripping the phone so hard her knuckles turned white.
The answer on the other end didn’t seem to calm her panic.
“Fine! I understand!”
She cut the other person off, her words hissed through gritted teeth.
“Give me the exact location! I’m coming over right now!”
After hanging up, Su Yuqing didn’t even have time to give Liuli a full explanation.
She hurriedly dropped a quick sentence—”Something happened to Chiai, she’s in the infirmary!”—and bolted out of the lounge like a gust of wind.
***
Running through the busy and tense backstage corridors, Su Yuqing almost ran the entire way to the temporary medical station.
The air was thick with the faint scent of disinfectant.
She pushed the door open, and the first thing she saw was Kasahana Chiai sitting on a simple examination bed.
Her left ankle was wrapped in thick white bandages.
Standing beside her was a grim-faced Sakura Onodera and a team doctor who was just packing away a medical kit.
“Senior!”
Xiao Ying looked at Su Yuqing as if she were seeing her savior and rushed to meet her.
“Disinfection and emergency bandaging are already done. The doctor just checked her and applied a stabilizing bandage.”
Su Yuqing’s breathing hadn’t settled yet.
Her eyes were locked onto Chiai’s injured ankle, her chest heaving violently.
She forced herself to calm down and took a deep breath, though her voice still trembled slightly as she cut straight to the point.
“What is the doctor’s specific advice? Tell me the truth.”
Xiao Ying looked at Chiai, then at Su Yuqing, appearing troubled. She bit the bullet and tried to relay the information as gently as possible.
“The doctor said… he said that Chiai’s ankle is an acute sprain with a slight ligament tear. He suggests… suggests that for the time being, she should avoid… strenuous exercise.”
She paused, her voice dropping even lower.
“Especially… high-intensity movements like dancing that require running, jumping, and frequent twisting.”
“Um… Senior?”
After finishing, Xiao Ying looked at Su Yuqing cautiously, waiting for her instructions.
Su Yuqing closed her eyes.
When she opened them again, her gaze was filled with a resolute clarity.
“Alright, I understand the situation.”
She patted Xiao Ying’s shoulder, her tone carrying an unquestionable command.
“Xiao Ying, I’ll handle things here. Go take care of the outside matters. Make sure everything else runs smoothly.”
“Yes, Senior.”
Xiao Ying looked as if she had been granted a reprieve and hurriedly bowed before leaving the infirmary, gently closing the door behind her.
Only two people remained in the room.
Su Yuqing let out a long sigh, one filled with helplessness and a tragic sense of ‘as I expected.’
She walked to the side of the examination bed, her gaze complicated as she looked at Chiai, who had turned her face away.
“Why… did you still come here…?”
Chiai finally spoke.
Her voice was muffled, yet it carried the same willful arrogance that hadn’t diminished in the slightest despite her injury.
“Didn’t I already tell them… not to notify you… Meow?”
She didn’t even turn to look at Su Yuqing.
Su Yuqing ignored the excuse, stating a fact in a calm but firm tone.
“Chiai, you need to understand something. In this world, not everyone has to—or is willing to—revolve around you every second of the day. Similarly, not every order you give must be followed unconditionally by others.”
Her words were a response to Chiai’s selfishness, but also a way to settle her own history of being overly submissive.
However, at that moment, Chiai suddenly whipped her head around.
Her glaze-colored eyes pinned Su Yuqing with a sharp look, her small nose twitching slightly like a cat picking up an unusual scent.
*Sniff, sniff…*
She let out a tiny intake of breath.
Her brows furrowed deeply, and her gaze became dangerous and inquisitive.
“On your body… why is there suddenly a… a scent I’ve never, ever smelled before…?”
It was an unfamiliar, fresh scent—a mix of paint and high-end perfume. It was certainly not any fragrance Su Yuqing usually wore.
Su Yuqing’s heart sank.
It was Liuli!
The close contact earlier had undoubtedly left a mark on her.
She forced herself to remain calm, trying to pull the conversation back on track to avoid this dangerous minefield.
“I’m in no mood to discuss this with you. Listen, Chiai, I’ve already started emergency communications with Manager Huang and the others.”
She pulled out her phone, her tone serious.
“I want you to understand that in this world, some things cannot be forced, especially your health! Once your body breaks down, nothing—”
“It feels like… it feels like the scent of a woman about the same age as you…”
Chiai completely ignored her words, continuing her own analysis.
Her eyes grew colder, and her tone became increasingly aggressive.
“From the moment you left my side… until the time you got the call and rushed here… you were with that woman the entire time, weren’t you!?”
The interrogation was like a sharp arrow aimed straight for the center.
Su Yuqing felt a headache coming on.
She tried to communicate rationally.
“Even if… even if the management of the Xiaozhua Agency has a firm stance, the final decision on whether this performance continues ultimately belongs to you, Chiai! You need to be responsible for your own body!”
“Don’t keep rambling to me about other things, Meow!!”
Chiai suddenly erupted with a low growl, like a cat whose territory had been invaded.
She slammed her hand against the edge of the bed.
The movement caused her injured ankle to throb, making her grit her teeth in pain, but the obsession and fire in her eyes only burned brighter.
“So! Who exactly is that woman I don’t know who dared to get close to you…!? Speak…!!”
She was practically roaring.
Facing Chiai’s unreasonable and completely off-topic interrogation, the anger and worry Su Yuqing had been suppressing finally broke through the breaking point.
“I think the person who has the least right to keep pestering me and rambling about nonsense… is actually you! Kasahana Chiai!!”
She took a step forward, her voice trembling with emotion, yet carrying an unprecedented strength and determination.
“In my capacity as your Exclusive Manager, based on your current physical condition and the doctor’s professional advice, I am now officially and strongly demanding that you—cancel tonight’s and tomorrow’s performances! Right now, immediately!”
“Cancel the performance…?”
Chiai looked as if she had heard an utterly ridiculous joke.
Her face twisted into an expression of mockery and disbelief.
“You’re saying this now…? With less than 30 minutes until the show starts?”
“Yes! That’s right!”
Su Yuqing responded decisively, her gaze not wavering for a second.
“And not just tonight’s. Tomorrow’s show must be canceled as well! Until your injury heals, all performance activities are suspended!”
A suffocating silence spread between the two.
Chiai stared intently at Su Yuqing, her glaze-colored eyes swirling with shock, anger, and a sense of betrayal, as well as a nearly insane stubbornness.
A few seconds later, all the emotions on her face suddenly receded like a tide, leaving only a cold calm.
“Fine… very well.”
She suddenly smiled, a smile that was sweet but devoid of any warmth.
“I’ll cancel it right now… and show you.”
Before Su Yuqing could react, Chiai quickly grabbed her phone from the head of the bed, skillfully dialed a number, and even intentionally pressed the speakerphone button.
“Hello? Is this Manager Huang? This is Chiai.”
Her voice instantly returned to her usual idol tone—slightly lazy yet unquestionable.
“Yes, the doctor has already treated my sprained ankle. It’s nothing major, just a twist.”
She spoke dismissively, as if the person who had just turned pale with pain wasn’t herself.
“Mhm, of course I know without you explaining… how very, very important this Weekend Special Performance is to the Xiaozhua Agency and to all the fans in attendance—”
She deliberately drew out her words, her glaze-colored eyes locking onto Su Yuqing’s suddenly pale face with a provocative glint.
“So—”
Chiai’s red lips curled into the cruel arc of a victor as she announced clearly and firmly into the microphone, “The performance will proceed as scheduled! Every part of the process will follow the original plan. No changes are allowed!”
“Wha… what…!?”
Su Yuqing’s eyes widened in shock.
She could hardly believe what she was hearing and instinctively wanted to rush forward to grab the phone.
However, Chiai had already briskly hung up and tossed the phone back onto the bed.
Then, she looked at Su Yuqing and flashed a smile, as if a prank had succeeded.
“There, there~ See? The call is already over~ It’s too late to say anything now~”
“Chiai, you…!!”
Su Yuqing was shaking with rage.
She pointed at Chiai, her voice choking with extreme anger and disappointment.
“Do… do you understand?! Your behavior right now… is completely irresponsible toward your own body! It’s irresponsible toward all the staff members who worked for you and the audience expecting to see you…!”
“Irresponsible…?”
Chiai tilted her head, repeating the word.
That irritatingly sweet smile remained on her face.
Her tone was airy, yet it carried a lethal sting.
“But it’s not your place… to worry about me, Meow~”
“After all…”
She leaned forward slightly, lowering her voice as if a demon were continuing to whisper:
“I am your ‘Master’ after all~ Since when does a ‘Master’ need to explain or justify what she does to her ‘Possession’? Hmm?”